Sankakukankei
by All4thebasilisk
Summary: When Gakuto falls for a girl on Atobe's list, he's doomed for failure, right? Because no one beats Atobe... right? RIGHT, Gakuto? Gakuto, are you listening?


A/N: Hi… I'm back online with loads of new stories and (yes, believe it or not) continuations for the old! I'm working on Tenipuri Online, and I promise, it'll be up sometime this week! I hope…

A note about this fic- NO MARY SUES! Really! The OC's in this fic are really there only to bring out the canon characters!

-----

They say I'm an open guy. Sure, I'm pretty talkative, but I don't necessarily agree about open. Yuushi says that I never really say anything when I talk. Nothing that matters, anyway.

So when I saw the new student, I kept my mouth shut. She mattered, I could see that at once. Mattered to me, anyway.

Her name was Hikari Rini. She was in her third year, same as me, and had a little sister named Dani, a year younger, in my cousin's class. Ordinarily, I don't even notice new girls, but Rini was _smart_. Plus, she sat next to me in the front row, where I was "invited" to sit after one prank too many.

She was pretty quiet. When I first introduced myself to her, she smiled softly and labeled herself as Rini in a voice so low I could barely catch her name. But I didn't really mind having to strain my ears, because the moment she smiled at me, I was in love.

I decided no to tell anyone about my new crush. After all, Shishido would scoff about teenage romance crises, Atobe would give me a dubious and measuring glance, Otori would get excited and make me even more disconcerted than I was, Hiyoshi would roll his eyes and ignore me, Kabaji would stare, Jiro would sleep, and Yuushi… well, actually, Yuushi would listen.

So against my better judgment I told Yuushi. He gave me a pitying look. "Wrong girl, Gakuto. She's on the _list_."

The _list_. Atobe's list.

He had decided, after Shishido had asked out a girl Atobe had been flirting with, to make a list of girls he was actually interested in so we'd know who was off-limits. Typical Atobe. And when Shishido had stubbornly tried to date the girl anyway, Atobe had publicly humiliated Shishido in front of the girl with the greatest weapon at his disposal- tennis.

"Rini's more of a brain," I said thoughtfully. "I don't think she'd be as impressed by Atobe's superior tennis skills."

"Let me get this straight," Shishido said from where he was shamelessly eavesdropping. "You're thinking of crossing _Atobe_? Gakuto, I knew you weren't top of your class, but I didn't think you were _stupid_."

I made a face at him. "Look who's talking, Mr. Failed-a-test-that-I-aced-yesterday. Besides, Rini can't be on Atobe's list already. She transferred here today."

Yuushi shook his head. "Sorry, Gakuto, but I definitely saw Atobe add Hikari's name during math today."

"Hiikari?" Atobe's drawl sounded from behind us. "Hikari Rini is definitely on my list. Who wants her?"

"No one," Yuushi said quickly. "Shi sits next to Gakuto, that's all."

"Really." Atobe turned to stare calculatingly at me. "That's… useful."

"I'm not going to help you get _another_ girl," I told him. "You're popular enough as it is."

"Of course I am," Atobe agreed confidently.

"How'd she get on the list, anyway?" Shishido asked innocently.

Atobe shrugged. "Her sister Dani and I used to date back in freshman year, but I always preferred Rini. Then, I didn't date her because she had this horrible zit on her nose, but now that they've transferred from Ginka and the zit's gone, she's mine."

"You didn't date her because of a _zit_?" I asked disbelievingly. Only Atobe…

"I didn't date her because I was dating her sister," Atobe explained. "The zit just helped convince me not to dump Dani."

"So why _did_ you dump Dani?" Yuushi asked curiously. "Did she catch you cheating on her or something?"

Atobe rolled his eyes. "You always expect the worst of me, Oshitari. Of course she didn't catch me! No, I dunped her because her hideous cat annoyed me."

"You couldn't handle her pet?" Shishido asked skeptically.

Atobe shuddered. "I _hate_ cats. And this one was so affectionate! It tried to rub up against me all the time… So I hired someone to dispose of it, and Dani found out…"

"Wait." Yuushi's eyes twinkled with mischief. "_You_ got dumped? Atobe Keigo!"

Atobe scowled. "Of course not!" But we were all smirking and he knew he had lost. "Isn't this tennis practice?" he snapped. "Why aren't you on the courts? Shishido! Get Otori and play a doubles match with these two clowns. Kabaji!" The silent boy who had witnessed our conversation from his customary spot behind Atobe blinked. "We'll play on Court A. Let's go!"

We headed for the next court.

Yuushi turned to me. "How 'bout trying that Dani? She sounds like quite a girl."

I did a flip. "I like Rini," I told him stubbornly. "And if I need to beat Atobe to get her, so be it."

"Good luck." Shishido grinned maliciously. "You'll need it."


End file.
